Publications

the morbilliviruses are a closely related group of important human and animal pathogens. the best known members of the group are measles virus in man and canine distemper virus in dogs. the group also includes two other serious animal diseases, rinderpest or cattle plague and peste des petits ruminants in sheep and goats. the latter viruses are of great economic importance in africa, asia and the middle east. persistence of these viruses in some form is a possible mechanism whereby life-long imm ...

peste des petits ruminants virus was suspected to be the cause of a disease outbreak in a zoological collection at al ain in the arabian gulf. clinically the outbreak affected gazelles (gazellinae), ibex and sheep (caprinae) and gemsbok (hippotraginae); subclinical involvement of nilgai (tragelaphinae) was suspected. a morbillivirus was isolated and using monoclonal antibodies and biological tests in cattle, sheep and goats the virus of peste des petits ruminants was identified.

development of a competitive elisa for detecting antibodies to the peste des petits ruminants virus using a recombinant nucleoprotein.

a competitive elisa based on the reaction between a monoclonal antibody (mab) and a recombinant nucleoprotein of the peste des petits ruminants virus (pprv) was developed. this protein was obtained in large quantities from insect cells infected with a ppr nucleoprotein recombinant baculovirus (n-b). the competitive elisa was compared with the virus neutralisation test (vnt) for detecting specific antibodies to pprv in sheep and goats. the time consuming vnt is the only prescribed test that is ca ...

cloning and expression of the nucleoprotein of peste des petits ruminants virus in baculovirus for use in serological diagnosis.

peste des petits ruminants (ppr) is a viral disease of goats and sheep characterized by erosive stomatitis, enteritis, and pneumonia. the virus is a member of the family paramyxoviridae and the genus morbillivirus. the disease has high morbidity and mortality rates and has a substantial economic impact in developing countries. we have cloned and sequenced the cdna of the nucleocapsid (n) gene of the nigeria 75/1 strain of ppr virus (pprv). a comparison of its nucleotide and deduced amino acid se ...

goats were protected against a lethal challenge of peste des petits ruminants (ppr) virus following vaccination with a recombinant capripoxvirus containing either the fusion (f) gene of rinderpest virus or the haemagglutinin (h) gene of rinderpest virus. the h gene recombinant produced high titres of neutralizing antibody to rinderpest virus in the vaccinated goats, whereas the f gene recombinant failed to stimulate detectable levels of neutralizing antibody. a similar response to the two recomb ...

an outbreak of disease characterised by fever, ocular and nasal discharge, coughing and sneezing, oral necrosis, diarrhoea, enteritis and pneumonia in goats was shown by the use of specific cdna probes to have been peste des petits ruminants, confirmed for the first time in ethiopia. both morbidity and mortality rates were high in goats but sheep were not affected.

an immunocapture elisa for the diagnosis of rinderpest and peste des petits ruminants is described. monoclonal antibodies directed against non-overlapping antigenic domains on the nucleocapsid (n) were used to detect the virus n protein in supernatants from infected cells and in field specimens. the assay, which is very sensitive, can be performed in one hour on pre-coated plates. there was no cross reaction between the two viruses in the test and the n protein could be detected in infected cell ...

the detection of antibodies against peste des petits ruminants virus in cattle, sheep and goats and the possible implications to rinderpest control programmes.

monoclonal antibody-based competitive elisa (c-elisa) have been used for the specific measurement of antibodies to both rinderpest and peste des petits ruminants (ppr) viruses in cattle, sheep and goats. examination of serum samples from sheep and goats in gambia, before and after vaccination with rinderpest vaccine, suggested that antibodies to ppr virus could prevent an immune response to the rinderpest vaccine. cattle sera from nigeria and ghana showed a high prevalence of antibody against pp ...

protection of goats against peste des petits ruminants with a vaccinia virus double recombinant expressing the f and h genes of rinderpest virus.

peste des petits ruminants (ppr) is a viral disease of goats and sheep characterized by necrotizing and erosive stomatitis, enteritis and pneumonia. the causative agent, pprv, is a member of the family paramyxoviridae and the genus morbillivirus. other members of the genus include rinderpest (rpv), measles, canine distemper and phocid distemper viruses. ppr has a very high rate of morbidity and mortality, and effective control of this disease is of economic importance in africa, asia and the mid ...

the ability of the attenuated peste des petits ruminants vaccine virus to protect small ruminants against virulent rinderpest virus was investigated. out of four susceptible goats that were infected with the highly virulent saudi strain of rinderpest virus by intranasal ioculation, three developed mild clinical signs of disease and infected susceptible in-contact goats and cattle with rinderpest virus. however, four goats which had been vaccinated with the attenuated peste des petits ruminants v ...

evaluation of polymerase chain reaction for the detection and characterisation of rinderpest and peste des petits ruminants viruses for epidemiological studies.

the high sequence variability found in rna viruses makes it difficult to design primers for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction amplification which will be certain to work with all new field isolates. to overcome this problem for the detection and differential diagnosis of rinderpest (rp) and peste des petits ruminants (ppr) viruses (v), we have designed several sets of primers, based on well-conserved sequences in the p and f genes. analysis of a large number of field isolates from ...

the aetiological agent responsible for an epizootic of a rinderpest-like disease afflicting sheep and goats in three states of northern india was confirmed as peste des petits ruminants virus. to differentiate the virus from rinderpest a number of diagnostic tests were used, including immunocapture elisa, specific oligonucleotide primers in a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, immunofluorescence with virus specific monoclonal antibodies and virus isolation. the virulence profile of ...

peste des petits ruminants virus (pprv) antigen was detected in conjunctival epithelial cells obtained from goats in the early or late stage of the disease by the use of a specific monoclonal antibody (mab) to pprv in an immunofluorescent antibody test (ifat). the affected goats were sampled during an outbreak of peste des petits ruminants in eritrea. syncytia were also observed in some smears, consistent with a morbillivirus infection, but the ifat was more sensitive than staining for syncytia ...

the suitability of recombinant t7 polymerase produced using either the highly attenuated mva strain of vaccinia (mva-t7) or fowlpox virus (fp-t7) for transient expression and negative strand virus rescue was compared in two mammalian cell lines (mdbk and vero) and in primary cells of bovine, ovine and caprine origin. such primary cells are more permissive for the growth of wild type strains of morbilliviruses, such as rinderpest virus and peste des petits ruminants virus. mva-t7 was found to be ...

economics of prophylaxis against peste des petits ruminants and gastrointestinal helminthosis in small ruminants in north cameroon.

data on reproduction and mortality were collected over one year from 5100 sheep and 13,300 goats in treated and control flocks. the treated animals received vaccination against peste des petits ruminants (ppr) and anthelmintics twice a year. productivity parameters (fecundity and mortality rates) obtained with and without prophylaxis were fitted into a benefit-cost economic analysis model and run for project lifespans varying from one to five years. at a 7% discount rate, the overall benefits fo ...

peste des petits ruminants virus (pprv), a member of the genus morbillivirus within the family paramyxoviridae, causes a fatal disease 'peste des petits ruminants' in goats and sheep. this enveloped virus is antigenically closely related to rinderpest virus (rpv), which causes a similar but distinct disease in large ruminants. pprv harbors two major surface glycoproteins, the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (hn) and the fusion (f) proteins. the surface glycoproteins of morbilliviruses are highly imm ...

members of the morbillivirus genus, canine distemper (cdv), phocine distemper virus (pdv), and the cetacean viruses of dolphins and porpoises exhibit high levels of cns infection in their natural hosts. cns complications are rare for measles virus (mv) and are not associated with rinderpest virus (rpv) and peste des petits ruminants virus (pprv) infection. however, it is possible that all morbilliviruses infect the cns but in some hosts are rapidly cleared by the immune response. in this study, ...

immune suppression associated with morbillivirus infections may influence the mortality rate by allowing secondary bacterial infections that are lethal to the host to flourish. using an in vitro proliferation assay, we have shown that all members of the genus morbillivirus inhibit the proliferation of a human b-lymphoblast cell line (bjab). proliferation of freshly isolated, stimulated bovine and caprine peripheral blood lymphocytes is also inhibited by uv-inactivated rinderpest (rpv) and peste- ...

peste des petits ruminants virus (pprv, genus morbillivirus), which causes a severe disease in sheep and goats, has only recently been officially declared to be present in turkey. we carried out a study to determine the prevalence, distribution, and host range of pprv in turkey. a total of 1,607 animals, reared in 18 different locations, were monitored for the presence of antibodies to pprv and the related virus of large ruminants, rinderpest virus (rpv). only two farms had animals that were fre ...

an experimental competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (morbillivirus celisa) using a recombinant n antigen (rrpv n) expressed in a baculovirus and a ruminant morbillivirus (rpv and pprv)-specific monoclonal antibody (p-13a9) was developed for simultaneous detection of rinderpest virus (rpv) and peste des petits ruminants virus (pprv) antibodies and its diagnostic performance was evaluated. a set of known reference antisera against rpv and pprv belonging to different lineages, experimenta ...

control of peste des petits ruminants: classical and new generation vaccines.

peste des petits ruminants is a highly contagious disease of domestic and wild small ruminants. it seems to be the major constraint in the development of small ruminant production in areas where it is endemic. included in the list a of the international zoosanitary code, it is also part of the fao empress programme. classically, it is characterised by fever, nasal and ocular discharges, diarrhoea, respiratory distress, mucosal erosive lesions and death in 40-80% of acute cases. all these clinica ...

full genome sequence of peste des petits ruminants virus, a member of the morbillivirus genus.

peste des petits ruminants virus (pprv) causes an acute febrile illness in small ruminant species, mostly sheep and goats. pprv is a member of the morbillivirus genus which includes measles, rinderpest (cattle plague), canine distemper, phocine distemper and the morbilliviruses found in whales, porpoises and dolphins. full length genome sequences for these morbilliviruses are available and reverse genetic rescue systems have been developed for the viruses of terrestrial mammals, with the excepti ...

morbillivirus infections have been known for a long time to be associated with an acute immunosuppression in their natural hosts. here, we show that recombinant morbillivirus nucleoproteins from canine distemper virus, peste-des-petits-ruminants virus, and rinderpest virus bind b-lymphocytes from dogs, goats, and cattle, respectively, similarly to measles virus nucleoprotein in humans. the use of surface plasmon resonance imaging allowed the real time detection of differential interactions betwe ...

clinical and para-clinical findings of a recent outbreaks of peste des petits ruminants in iran.

peste des petits ruminants (ppr) is a highly contagious and infectious viral disease of domestic and wild small ruminants characterized by fever, erosive stomatitis, conjunctivitis, gastroenteritis and pneumonia. goats are usually more severely affected than sheep. peste des petits ruminants is caused by a paramyxovirus of the morbillivirus genus. in march 2004, a flock of sheep in tehran province with 430 deaths was visited. according to the history taken from the owner, at disease onset most o ...

peste-des-petits-ruminants virus (pprv) (family paramyxoviridae, genus morbillivirus) causes an acute febrile illness in sheep and goats resulting in significant morbidity and mortality in infected herds. the paramyxoviruses all have negative sense, non-segmented rna genomes and their host range and pathogenic determinants have been extensively studied using reverse genetics. this technology also enables a more rational approach to be taken with respect to vaccine design. in order to initiate th ...

the threat of peste des petits ruminants: progress in vaccine development for disease control.

peste des petits ruminants (ppr) is a highly contagious animal disease caused by a virus in the genus morbillivirus, family paramyxoviridae. this infection is responsible for high morbidity and mortality in sheep and goats and in some small wild ruminant species. the huge number of small ruminants, which are reared in the endemic areas makes ppr a serious disease threatening the livelihood of poor farmers. taking advantage of the closely relationship between rinderpest and ppr viruses, the atten ...

development of one-step real-time rt-pcr assay for detection and quantitation of peste des petits ruminants virus.

in this study, a rapid and specific taqman-based, one-step real-time quantitative reverse transcription pcr (qrt-pcr) has been described for the detection of peste des petits ruminants virus (pprv). primers and probe were designed based on the nucleocapsid protein gene sequence. the real-time qrt-pcr assay was able to detect pprv isolates from very distinct geographical areas (africa, middle east and asia). the specificity of the assay was assessed by including rinderpest virus and other morbill ...

an outbreak of peste des petits ruminants (ppr) in lambs and young goats of najdi breed of sheep and goats occurred during winter 2005 at qassim region of central saudi arabia. the ppr infection was confirmed by demonstration of antibodies against the virus in the serum of clinically-ill young sheep and goats using competitive elisa test. clinical examination of infected animals showed fever, salivation, lacrimation, mucopurulent nasal discharge, difficult breathing and diarrhoea. the disease wa ...

the n gene and genome promoter nucleotide sequence of a chinese peste des petits rumiants virus (pprv) ("china/tib/gej/07-30") was firstly determined. the length of n gene was 1689 nucleotides with a single open reading frame (orf). the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence was compared with the homologous region of other pprv isolates. the nucleotide sequence of the "china/tib/gej/07-30" was 91.7%-97.6% identical to other pprv isolates, while a homology of 94.9%-98.5% could be observed at ...

signaling lymphocyte activation molecule-slam (cd150) molecule has been reported as a putative receptor for most morbilliviruses for their respective host species. in this study, we determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the gene coding for the morbillivirus receptor-slam from the four species, namely, goat (capra hircus), sheep (ovis aries), indian cattle (bos indicus), and buffalo (bubalus bubalis). the nucleotide (nt) open reading frame sequence of slam gene in all the four species st ...

monkey cv1 cell line expressing the sheep-goat slam protein: a highly sensitive cell line for the isolation of peste des petits ruminants virus from pathological specimens.

peste des petits ruminants (ppr) is an important economically transboundary disease of sheep and goats caused by a virus which belongs to the genus morbillivirus. this genus, in the family paramyxoviridae, also includes the measles virus (mv), canine distemper virus (cdv), rinderpest virus (rpv), and marine mammal viruses. one of the main features of these viruses is the severe transient lymphopaenia and immunosuppression they induce in their respective hosts, thereby favouring secondary bacteri ...

the nucleotide sequences of p gene from a field strain of peste des petits ruminants virus (pprv) ("china/tib/gej/07-30") was firstly determined. the p gene is 1,655 nucleotides long with two overlapping open reading frames (orfs). the first orf is 1530 nucleotides long and would produce p protein of 509 amino acid residues. the second orf is 534 nucleotides long and would produce c protein of 177 amino acid residues. the first orf produces a second mrna transcript of 897 nucleotides long with a ...